The Wilder Side of Christian Rock

The most recent history of CCM sees the genre as an orphan no one wants to claim

References to "Christian rock" have lately become hip. Most recently, Newsweek ran a cover story on the phenomenon, while on the past season's "The Sopranos," Tony's teenage daughter and her boyfriend have taken to writing "Christian rock" lyrics, and "Sopranos" creator David Chase told The New Yorker magazine, perhaps jokingly, that his next show would be about Christian rockers.

The media's sudden curiosity about Christian rock (or CCM as it is called, short for Contemporary Christian music) doesn't mean everyone has changed their view of the genre.

Late in the "Seinfeld" run, George Costanza tried to calm Elaine, who had discovered that all the programmed radio buttons in her boyfriend's car were set to CCM stations. George spoke for many Americans when he said he found Christian rock refreshing: it was safe and non-threatening, and nothing like real rock music.

But "Christian rock" or more accurately the idea of Christians in rock, is definitely having a moment. The end of the millennium brought a flood of books about devout Christians, rock music and the reaction to the unfortunate decision to create a new genre called Contemporary Christian Music. Charlie Peacock's book "At The Crossroads," my own "The Rock & Rebellion" and Jay R. Howard and John M. Streck's "Apostles of Rock," came out within a few months of each covering different aspects of the same scene.

"Raised By Wolves" is another look at this phenomenon by the multi-talented John J. Thompson. Thompson's title is based on his very original idea that CCM grew up with two strange parents: "Christian rock was an infant in those days [the 1970s]. One of its parents, pop culture, decided that it was irrelevant and old-fogeyish and kicked it to the curb. The other parent, the church, saw too much of the world in it and was frightened by it. The young musicians, wanting nothing more than to use their music to reach a hurting world, thus found themselves orphaned. They were left to be raised by wolves."

It's a great start and a compelling analogy. What's lacking is any idea of how this child, raised in such a dysfunction, can overcome its upbringing and become a productive adult.

Thompson's book gives comprehensive attention to the minutiae of the players and events of the last 30 years in CCM. Anyone in any way remotely associated with CCM ought to pick up a copy, as chances are that Thompson lists your contribution. In this respect, Thompson's work stands out from other recent volumes by providing a full accounting of the key and not-so-key players who shaped the scene.

Thompson's history is as comprehensive as his rock roster. He takes us on a journey through the bowels of Christian rock, chronicling every major event and every so often dropping very valuable tips about theviability of music produced in the CCM community.

Thompson is a fan, but also is clear-eyed about the genre's limitations: "The Christian community had nearly completed its total retreat from mainstream society," he writes. "Many Christians were able to live in a world within a world, one that would protect them from over brushing up against non-Christians."

Today, bands try hard to avoid being labeled "Christian rock." Thompson points out that artists like Creed, Sixpence, P.O.D. have learned from U2, a band that has allowed their faith to deeply influence their music while avoiding the label "Christian music." "The lesson seems to be that executives of record labels don't listen very closely to music," Thompson writes. "Hence, as long as a band isn't tagged as Christian before they make it, they'll be let through the gates, especially if they are a hit. Thus after U2, many Christian musicians used stealth."

Thompson himself can't seem to decide whether Christians who make music should allow themselves to be labeled "Christian Rock" or not. He makes the pitch for both sides of the argument at various points. Speaking of Tooth & Nail Records founder Brandon Ebel, Thompson notes approvingly: "His point was that a record label couldn't be Christian, that bands were Christian, but that a label was just a label."

But Thompson then proceeds to label Sixpence None The Richer (who I have worked with) a "Christian group." He calls King's X and POD "Christian bands," and Squint a "Christian label," despite the fact that all have refused those tags.

Thompson also needs to tighten up his fact checking. Glaring mistakes will create serious credibility problems for this important work if anyone at Rolling Stone or Billboard gets hold of this book, which misspells names like Lauryn Hill, Glen Campbell, Boys 2 Men, Parents Music Resource Center, Mask of the Great Deceiver, 2 Live Crew, Pakaderm, Kurt Cobain, Magdallan, Brian Ray, Cliff Richard, John Mellencamp, Marina Del Rey, John Fischer, Sanhedrin, Andrae Crouch and Pete Townshend.